Welcome to Our Blog! Our Story Starts Below...

Welcome to our blog! We set this up as an information hub about the progress of our little twin boys who were born on January 5, 2010. We along with our little boys first thank you so much for your love and support, and hope that this blog will give you an opportunity to follow their progress as they grow in the NICU at St. Jude Hospital in Fullerton.

Our little boys had a harrowing journey to get here. They were born at 25 weeks and 6 days, which is needless to say, very early. Jared William, was born at 10:49 a.m. feet first, and on the bathroom floor of the delivery room. Anthony Michael was born at 11:30 via C-section after he decided that he wanted to come out hands first.

Our story started on Monday, January 4 after a doctor's appointment with Dr. Gray. Danielle had been feeling generally, "crappy" the day before and reported what sounded like some contractions. The doctor decided to send us across the street to the hospital just to make sure everything was okay. After a couple of hours in labor and delivery the staff confirmed a few contractions, but very far apart. Her cervix was not dilated and the babies were fine.

The doctor sent us home and told us to keep track of the contractions, and so long as they weren't less than 7 minutes apart there was no need for concern. The next morning Danielle started feeling contractions again, but this time they were about five minutes apart. She called the doctor who said to wait another hour and see if they went away.

I was just getting ready to walk out the door to work when Danielle had a contraction that just about doubled her over. Deciding something wasn't right, I called the doctor and said we were coming to the hospital.

On our way to the hospital Danielle was having severe pains in her lower back every three minutes. When we arrived at the hospital Danielle was hooked up to the machines which registered no contractions at all. The doctors and nurses did not think her pains were contractions but constipation. After several attempts to alleviate that Danielle went into the bathroom still having severe lower back pain.

After a minute, I heard a scream, and Danielle was screaming that her babies were coming out. The nurses came rushing, as did the doctor, but Jared was too impatient to wait. He was born on the bathroom floor. After Danielle was moved to the bed, Anthony wasn't so cooperative and an emergency C-section was performed.

The NICU unit was quick to respond and help the teenie little babies breathe and fight for life. Jared was 2lbs. 1oz. and was 13 and 1/2 inches long. Anthony was 1lb. 15oz. and was 13 inches long.

The whole thing was totally unexpected, and frankly more traumatic than happy. But we are blessed with two gorgeous little miracle babies!

Our boys came home to us on March 26, 2010, after spending 81 days or about 12 weeks in the NICU at St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton. As you may note from our previous posts below, the journey was not without its bumps in the road.

There were highs, and there were lows. We and the boys braved two laser eye surgeries, and countless other obstacles and scares. But, we never lost confidence in the medical team in the NICU, and always kept our faith that God would lead us through this time.

Our steadfastness paid off, because now the boys are happy and healthy at home! This of course brings with it a totally new set of challenges that we are exicted and eager to experience. The task of caring for twin newborns is a daunting one, but a welcome one.

So, just because the boys are now home, don't think the blogging will stop. It may not be as consistent as before, but we will do our best to keep you all updated on their progress, and give you a window into our lives raising twin boys.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

No News is Good News

As you may have noted by now, the weekend was pretty crazy for us, thanks in large part to Jared's little "episode." Amazingly enough, what looked to be a total disaster turned out to be a blessing in disguise as we learned he does not have PDA and his brain bleeds are starting to resolve on their own.

The last two days or so for the boys have been pretty stable. Both are on nasal cannula and doing well. The apnic spells occur, but again, these are totally expected and normal. For the most part both of the boys come back up with little or no attention from the nursing staff, which we hope is an indicator of increasing strength.

Both boys are eating fairly regularly. Anthony is up to 14.5cc and is tolerating them well. In fact, if he tolerates his next feed today at 2, the doctor will take him off all I.V. fluids and nutrition starting tomorrow. He has really seemed to respond to the feedings and is up to 2lbs. 6oz. If you'll recall he was 1lb. 15oz. at birth, so we hope he's well on his way!

Jared on the other hand, is making slower progress with his feeds. This isn't a big shock, afterall, he had a tougher road just to make it here, and has had some pretty big setbacks along the way. Still, the fact he's doing as well as he is says a lot about him, and the wonderful staff caring for him. Jared is getting 2cc every three hours, up from every six hours. If his feeding goes well this afternoon the staff may increase the amount to 3cc.

As we've noted on several occasions, no news is good news, and thankfully the last couple of days have been uneventful. But, as we've said before as well, tomorrow is a new day. Friday was shaping up to be a great day too, and Jared gave us the (second?) scare of a lifetime that night.

It is difficult for Danielle and I to feel normal, and lead any semblance of a normal life. I imagine the word "normal" and the idea of your first children being born are oxymoronic for any new parent, not just NICU parents. That aside, though we cherish the good days (hours and minutes, frankly), we are always wary of what lurks around the corner. It is a tough existence for us on a day to day basis. Each of us may get a couple of nights of week now of actual sleep. Even when we do "sleep" it is never all that deep.

And as tough as it is for us, we always think of our boys who fight and struggle for every breath. For them just being alive is a struggle. So, don't feel sorry for us. That isn't the point I'm trying to make here. The feelings we express here, and the stress we share I hope present a clear picture of the fragility of the lives of my boys.

So, feel for them. Pray that their nights go well. Hope for their health and continued growth. We know that you have, and feel that you have, and Jared and Anthony know it as well.

1 comment:

Hi Jason and Danielle, it's Liz (Stacie and Al's good friend). Ryan and I have been keeping you and the boys in our thoughts and prayers. Jared and Anthony are so precious and I feel for you both and your families in these extremely rough times. What troopers they have been in the small amount of time they have had on this earth and with love, doctors and parents like they have, it will only make them stronger.